Kirk hopkins



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PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING HOMINY 0R HULLED CEREALS.

Patented July 14, 1896.

Wilgesscs UNITED STATES PATENT @rricn.

KIRK HOPKINS, OF SPRINGVILLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE \VESTERN NE\VYORK PRESERVING AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING HOMlNY OR HULLED CEREALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 563,859, dated July14, 1896.

I Application filed December 21, 1895. Serial No. 572,924. (No model.)

.T all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, KIRK HOPKINS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springville, in the county of Erie and State of New York,have invented a new and useful Process of and Apparatus for ProducingHominy or llulled Cereals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for pro ducing hominy or hulledcereals, and it has for its object to provide an apparatus of thischaracter involving a new process for treating corn or other cereals toproduce homin y in large quantities.

I 5 To this end the main and primary object of the present invention isto combine in a single apparatus means for positively and effectivelycarrying out all the steps necessary, in treating cereals, to producehominy, and in the attainment of this important result the inventioncontemplates a construction of apparatus by the use of which it ispossible to produce very much larger quantities of hulled cereals orhominy than heretofore possible in 2 5 connection with the ordinaryprocesses of producing this article.

with these and other objects in View, which will readily appear as thenature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in thenovel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinaftermore fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatusconstructed in accord- 5 ance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a centralvertical longitudinal sectional view thereof. Referring to theaccompanying drawings, the numeral 1 designates a box-casing constructed of wood or metal in a rectangular 0 form and provided with ahinged cover-section 2, which, when closed onto the lower or mainsection of the box-casing, completes a closed casing for the receptionof the screen drum or cylinder 8, arranged to rotate there- 5 in. Thescreen-drum 3 is made of any suitable perforate sheet metal or otherscreen material and is of a size so as to nearly completely occupy thespace within the box-casing when the cover-section thereof is. closed.The said screen drum or cylinder is closed at one end by an imperforatedrum or cylinder head a and at its opposite end the drum or cylinder isprovided with an imperforate conical funnel 5, having at its apex ahollow trunnion-neck 6, which removably rests in a bean ing-notch 7 inone end of the box-casing, it of course being understood that a similarbearing-notch 7 is formed in the opposite end of the box-casing toremovably receive therein the outer end extension 8 of the horizontaldrum'shaft 9.

The drum-shaft 9 passes through the imperforate drum or cylinder head 4of the screen-drum and is fitted fast at its inner end, as at 10, in asuitable spider 11, secured with- 6 5 in one end of the screen-drum, toprovide a connection between the drum and its shaft whereby both willrotate together. The drumshaft 0 has fitted thereon within the screendrum or cylinder a series of spaced agitators 7o 12, essentiallycomprising a series of agitaton fingers 13, extending radially from theshaft 9, to provide for the agitation or stirring up of the materialwithin the drum when the latter is rotated. The outer end extension 8 75 of said drum-shaft f) carries an interiorlythreaded coupling-socket14, adapted to detachably receive the threaded stem 15 of a suitablydriven shaft 16, which provides means for communicating motion to thescreen drum or cylinder at the proper time, and on both said shaftextension 8 and the hollow trunnion-neck 6, outside of the ends of thebox-casing, are fitted the hoisting clevises or bails 17, which areadapted to be swung upwardly and engaged by suitable hoisting block andtackle for the purpose of elevating the screen drum or cylinder to fillthe same and also to discharge it of its contents.

The box-casing 1 has fitted in its bottom one end of a drain or washpipe 18, which carries off the wash from within the box-casing, andwhich is provided at a suitable point with a stop-cock or valve 19,which provides means for cutting off and opening up the flow through 5the said pipe 18, and in connection with said latter pipe 18 awater-supplypipe 20 is used, which pipe is adapted to be swung on itselbow-joint 20 to a position to deliver water into the screen drum orcylinder when the cover of the casing is open.

In addition to the pipes 18 and 20 a steamsupply pipe 21 is employed,which pipe is connected at one end with the bottom of the box-casing,and also has connected therewith at a suitable point an ordinarypressure-indieator 22, and a safety blow-off valve The steam-supply pipe21 furnishes heat for cookin g purposes, as will hereinafter be moreparticularly referred to, and the steam which is introduced through thepipe 21 into the boxcasin g and the steam-drum is exhausted from thebox-casing through a suitable exhaustpipe 24, which is preferablyconnected to the box-casing at one end thereof and above the line ofwater allowed to remain in the box-casing during the cooking of thewashed and hulled cereal.

In using the apparatus, the screen drum or cylinder 3 is lifted out ofthe box-casing by the means described and inclined at a convenient anglefor introducin g the corn or other cereal to be treated through thehollow neck 6 into the drum or cylinder. The drum or cylinder is thenlowered in place within the box-easing, into which is also placed a bathof potash lye or other suitable chemical, the action of which on thecereal loosens and breaks the hull, so that the same can be readilyremoved. It will be understood that the screen drum or cylinder is onlypartly filled with the cereal, so that the same lies within the lowerpart of the drum when stationary and submerged in the chemical. When thepotash or otherchemieal has acted sufficiently on the cereal, the saidchemical is immediately drawn out of the box-casing through the drain orwash pipe 18 and clean water allowed to flow into the box-casing andscreen-drum through the top water-supply pipe 20.

A sufficient quantity of wash-water fills the box-casing, so as toentirely submerge the lower portion of the screen drum or cylinder, andat the same timethat the water is allowed to flow through the box-casingand the screendrum the latter is given a rapid rotation by coupling theshaft 16 with the shaft 9 in the manner already described. lVhile thescreendrum rotates, the agitators 12 keep the cereals thoroughly stirredup, so that the combined action of the flowing water and the agitatingrotation of the screen drum or cylinder provides means for completelyremoving the loosened hull from the cereal, while at the same timewashing every trace of chemical therefrom. The hulls and other foreignmatter pass through the perforations in the screen drum or cylinder andare washed out through the pipe 18.

Vhen the washing process is complete and nothing but clear water ispassing out of the pipe 18, the flow through said pipe is cutoff, sothat a sufficient quantity of water will be allowed to remain in thebox-casing for cock.- ing purposes. At this stage nothing but the cerealremains in the drum or cylinder in its natural state, excepting that thehull and eye is removed from each separate grain, and by now introducingsteam through the pipe 21 and exhausting the same through the pipe 24:the cereal will be thoroughly cooked, so as to produce hominy. After theproduction of the hominy the screen drum or cylinder is elevated out ofthe box-casing and inclined so as to allow the cooked product to be discharged out through the funnel 5 at one end of the drum or cylinder.

Changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of constructionmay be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificingany of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to besecuredby Letters Patent, is-:-

1. A process for producing hominy or hulled cereals, which consists inintroducing the ocreal into a vessel and submerging the same in achemical for loosening and breaking the hull, then subjecting the massof cereal to agitation Within the vessel and flushing clean wash-watertherethrough simultaneously with the agitation, and finally subjectingthe hulled and washed cereal to the cooking action of water and steam insaid vessel, substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for producing homin y,

a water and steam tight box-casing having a cover-section, a rotaryscreen-drum removably mounted in said casing and provided at one endwith an imperforate head and at its opposite end with an imperforateconical funnel portion having at its apex a hollow trunnion-neck, aseries of agitator-fingers fitted inside of the steam-drum, steam supplyand exhaust pipe connections with the boX-casin g, adrain-pipe connectedwith the bottom of the casing, and a water-supply pipe arranged todirect water into the drum when the cover of the casing is open,substantially as set forth.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, the casing, a rotaryscreen-drum mounted in the casing and provided at one end with a hollowtrunnion-neck and at its opposite end with a shaft connection having athreaded coupling-socket for connection with a driveshaft, andhoisting-clevises loosely connected respectively with the trunnion-neckand said shaft extension, substantially as set forth.

'In testimonythatl claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

KIRK HOPKINS. lVitnesses:

JOHN H. SIecERs, Gno. C SHOEMAKER.

